In the prior art there have been many types of wall paneling systems including joining members and adapted for adjustability, which are intended for use as bath tub or shower stall surrounds or enclosures. Such surrounds are provided as kits in which a number of separate panels are applied to the exposed surfaces of a recessed wall opening in which a bath tub or shower is located. The paneling used in surrounds must usually be both decorative and protective and requires an exposed surface which is resistant to impact, scratches and chemical breakdown. In the prior art, tub and shower wall surrounds have been provided with laminated or molded panels which may be formed from fiberglass, or tripolymer acrylonitrile-butadienestyrene with an acrylic laminate. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,564,788; 3,740,908; 3,977,136 and 3,996,703.
Generally, surround kits consist of at least (1) a back wall panel, which in turn may consist of one or more separate relatively plane panels, and which may include a center panel portion having an intrinsic soap tray and (2) separate side wall panels, which extend outwardly from ends of the center panel, thus meeting with the center panel at a corner of the recess.
At corners where side wall panels meet another panel, a relatively water resistant seal should be formed. This has been accomplished in the prior art by providing perpendicularly angled corner members, over which the center and side panels are applied, or by some other form of overlapping, cooperating, or sealing element. Effecting a seal at the corner has required relatively complex panel shapes which results in an increase in the total number of members required for a surround. The complexity and size of shapes involved has also presented problems in packaging a wall surround kit. Further, the corner sealing problem has presented design problems in providing an adjustable surround kit. Also, in paneled recesses, the outwardly facing edges of the side panels are normally sealed, covered by a decorative moulding or themselves molded into a shape, to provide protection from water infiltration and to enhance the esthetic appearance of the paneling applied.
Surround kits may be designed for retrofit purposes, such as remodeling, replacing or decorating an existing tub or shower wall recess, as well as for original installation. Water seals are required in the joints between individual adjacent panels, particularly, as stated above, at corners between panels and at exposed end edges of the panels. In the prior art it has been difficult to adapt to seal the exposed edge of a retrofit panel when the panel is applied over an existing wall covering such as tile. Furthermore, when surround kits are used in retrofit applications in which structural changes to an existing recess are not normally contemplated, it is often necessary to adapt paneling to out-of-plumb or out-of-square pre-existing structural inadequacies.
In addition, for either retrofit or original installation kits, the paneling provided should preferably be adjustable to fit existing wall recesses, which may conventionally range from about 40 to 60 inches in length for a tub, and from about 28 to 32 inches in length for a shower recess and from about 28 to 32 inches in depth for both. Adjustability minimizes inventory requirements by allowing relatively few stock kits to fit all sizes of shower stalls and tub recesses and reduces installation error by eliminating the need for measurement, cutting or other significant physical manipulation of the panels.